hooker-



(N0 M0661.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. J. HOOKER.

GAR STARTER AND BRAKE.

No. 411,594. Patented Sept. 24, 1889.

w'iizesses: lhverziov-i gm By m fliibrneys.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. J. HOOKER.

GAR STARTER AND BRAKE. N0.4l1,594. Patented Sept. 24, 1889;

FIG-2.

m'fize-SSes: Ina/7871357: im'wg 2K vi or/legs.

n. PETERS. Hwln-Lilmgnphar. Was-Huston. ac

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. J. HOOKER. GAR STARTER AND BRAKE. No. 411,594. Patented Sept. 24,1889.

a 0 6 c: I k Q o m 1 Q Q x Q i I I l v 1 Q u a K I S I U f ct fliiorneys.

N KICKS. Pnmo mognphur. Waminglun. D. cv

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

J. J. HOOKER. GAR STARTER AND BRAKE. No. 411,694. Patentd Sept, 24,1889- Ifiveniar: 772i eases. fiM/( 'fliiorne ys.

N 957515. mmulv o n mr, Walhinglcn, ac.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

J OHN JOSEPH HOOKER, OF TIDESVVELL, STOCKPORT, COUNTY OF DERBY, ENGLAND.

CAR STARTER AND BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 411,594, datedSeptember 24, 1889. Application filed July 13,1889. Serial No. 317,452.(No model.) Patented in France April 7, 1888, No. 189,829; in Belgium Aril 14, 1888,3510, 81,381; in Italy June 30, Austria-Hungary March 5,1889, No. 44,210 and No. 5,184.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that LJOHN JOSEPH HOOKER, clerk in holy orders, ofTideswell, Stockport, in the county of Derby, England, have ,inventednew and useful Improvements in Power-Storing Apparatus for Stopping andStarting Tram- Cars, (for which I have obtained Letters Patent in Italyby patent of addition to principal patent, dated June 30, 1888,Vols.XXII and XLVI, Nos. 23,257 and 7 6; in Belgium by patent of addition toprinciDa-l patent, dated April 14, 1888, No. 81,381;

in France by patent of addition to principal patent, dated April 7,1888, No. 189,829; in Austria-Hungary, dated March 5, 1889, Nos. M310and 5,184, and in Germany, dated December 9, 1888, No. 47,983,) of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact desoripton.

My invention relates to power-storing brake apparatus, whereby theenergy of motion of a tram-car which is usually expended in friction inthe operation of stopping the car may be utilized for restarting thevehicle.

The invention has for its principal object to provide simple andefficient apparatus which is reversible or doublc-acting-that is to say,which will store power in stopping the car, (whichever end of the latterbe running foremost,) and which maybe caused to apply the power sostored for the purpose of restarting the car either forward or backwardwithout regard to the direction in which the car may have been runningwhen the power was stored up.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal section, andFig. a plan, of the under framing of a car with my improvedpower-storing brake applied. Fig. 3 is a section of the spring-barreland its appurtenances in the plane of the wheel-axle to which it isapplied. Fig. at is an elevation of the same. Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9are part sections showing details of certain parts on a larger scale.

The same letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures.

188B, XXII, 23,257, XLVI, 76; in Germany December 9,1888, No.47,983, andin This improved apparatus comprises a spring-barrel E, carried upon asleeve A, mounted loose upon the wheel axle, the springs L being coiledabout and attached at one end to the sleeve A and at the other end tothe barrel E, a stop K, similar or equivalent to a Geneva stop, beingprovided in the barrel to limit the relative motion of the barrel andsleeve, and so prevent excessive Winding or unwinding of the springs. Itfurther comprises friction-clutches O G, respectively adapted to gear,the one the sleeve A and the other the barrel E, with the said axle forthe purpose of storing or applying the power, as the case may be. Italso comprises a pair of strap-brakes D D J J, by which rotation of thesleeve A or the barrel E is prevented or permitted atrequired times,

the connections of the sleeve and of the bar rel with their respectiveclutches and brakes being made through oppositely-acting sets ofpawl-and-ratchet gear 13 R12 H, and p B p B, and the arrangement beingsuch that both brakes cannot be released at the same time, the onealways remaining applied to act as an abutment or point of resistancefor the springs when the 0th eris released, and neither brake can bereleased until after the corresponding clutch has geared the part(barrel 0r sleeve, as the case may be) of which the brake is to bereleased with the axle.

The brakes and clutches are operated by the same shaft S indiiferentlyfrom either end of the car, and the motion of the handinglevers issimilar at both ends of the car, the clutch to be geared and thecorresponding brake to be released being operated by a single motion ofthe said shaft.

I will now describe these parts more in detail.

The sleeve A has a ratchet-boss B keyed 011 it at one end, with whichgear two sets of pawls p pf, mounted the one set within the rim of thesleeve clutch-drum C and the other set within the rim of the sleevebrake-Wheel D, which is mounted loose upon the sleeve.

mounted within the rim of the barrel brakewheel J which, like D, isloose on the sleeve. Fast on the other end of the barrel is anotherratchet-boss l with which engages a set of pawlsp mounted within the rimof the barrel clutch-drum G. The ratchet-bosses F and H, connecting thebarrel with its clutch and brake, have their teeth inclined in the samedirection and may be considered as one, although situated at oppositeends of the barrel, while the boss B, connecting the sleeve with itsclutch and brake, has its teeth inclined in the opposite direction to Fand H. The clutch-drums C and G are loose on the shaft; but the bossesin which are fitted the radially-sliding dogs forming the inner membersof the clutch are fast on the axle.

It will be seen from the foregoing that when the springs are wound upthey tend to rotate the sleeve and barrel in opposite directions, andthat either maybe connected to the axle while the other is heldstationary, so that the springs may be wound up whichever way the carmay be running, and the car can be propelled in either direction by theforce of the springs, (whichever way it may have previously beenrunning,) as it is impossible to let the springs unwind except by firstconnecting the barrel or the sleeve (according to the direction in whichit is desired to travel) with the axle, while the partnot so connectedis held fast by its brake.

The wrought-iron brake-straps D J are made in halves, hinged together,and are pressed on their corresponding brake-wheels D J by means ofsprings O, which are overcome, when the one or other brake is to bereleased, through the agency of levers P P, connected by links T withcrank-pins on a disk R, the same levers releasing the one or other setof brakes, according to the direction in which they are oscillated. Theaction of these levers is illustrated in Figs. 5 and (3,by which it willbe seen that both sets of brakes cannot be released at one time.

The shaft S, which I term the reversingshaft, extends longitudinallybeneath the car, and is provided with universal joints at points in itslength between the power-storing gear and the ends of the car to permitof the vertical play due to the action of the carriersprings of the car.The crank-disk R is loose on the shaft S, which I term thereversingshaft, and remains stationary while the shaft makes a partialrevolution for the purpose of first actuating the one or other set ofclutchgear, as hereinafter described, an arm Y, keyed on the shaft,acting as a carrier to move the disk R around with the shaft after thelatter has rotated sufficiently to operate the clutch gear. The drawingsrepresent this part of the apparatus in what may be termed the mid-gearposition, the shaft S being free to make a quarter-revolution in eitherdirection before the stud U on arm Y strikes against a .shoulderV of thecrank-disk R, and consequently before either brake is released.

moved.

The levers N, by which the sliding clutch collars M are actuated forthrowing the clutches into gear, have theirfulcra connected to springs11, whereby after the one or other clutch has been thrown into gearfurther motion of the parts will be permitted to enable thereversing-shaft S to act upon the crank- =disk R and operate thebrake-gear, as above described. The said fulcrum-springs n thus insu'reacertain but limited amount of pressure for the clutches, so preventingoverstrain ing of the parts while insuring a sufliciency of pressure forthe required purpose and taking up lost motion due to Wear.

Each clutch-lever is operated from a cam WV, keyed on thereversing-shaft S, Said 0am being adapted to throw the lever into therequired position, and also to hold it in that position whichever way itmay have been For this purpose it is preferred that the cam should be inthe form of two segments of a disk lying in different planes, as

clearly shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9, the adjacent ends of the two segments overlapping, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, and together acting asasingle-toothed pinion upon the forked member of a rock-lever X,connected at its other extremity to the brake-lever N, the limbs of thefork being in planes corresponding to the respective camsegments, sothat one or other will be struck by the correspond- .ing segment,(according to the direction of rotation of the cam,) and so that afterthe lever has been so moved the limb struck will bear against thecircumference of the segment, and be thereby locked in its new position.the position proper to mid-gear, and it will be seen that it could berevolved to the left without affecting the lever X, except to hold it inits present position; but if the cam is revolved to the right it willcatch one of the limbs of the lever X and throw it over to the positionproper to put the corresponding clutch into gear. Having done this, thecam can still turn a further portion of a revolution and lock the leverin its new position.

Vhile the cam V is moving idle through this further portion of arevolution the arm Y, which had previously turned idle, is carryinground the crank-disk B, so as to liberate the one or other brake.

Each clutch is operated by its own camgear, the two sets being similarand keyed on the same reversing-shaft S, but in different positions, soas to perform their functions each exactly at the proper moment withregard to the corresponding brake-gear.

To prevent the brake-gear revolving bodily with the axle, thebrake-straps are attached to a frame held by a lever Z, encircling thesleeve A between the brake-disks and atsaid lever extendinglongitudinally beneath the car, its end being anchored to the carframeat a considerable distance from the In the drawings the cam is shown in.ower-storin a aratus so as not to interfere with the vertical play ofthe axle in the axle-boxes. The frame to which this lever is attached issupported by its cross-head Z on the axle, and it serves to support theshaft S and the gear by which the clutches and brakes are operated, thefulcrum springs n of the brakelevers being attached to this frame. Oneof the cross-heads Z is extended and anchored to the body of the carsimilarly to lever Z, to steady the apparatus. The reversing-shaft S isworked by a hand-lever on a vertical shaft at the drivers platformthrough chain or other reducing-gear, the reversingshaft being geareddown in the ratio of about four to one. A dial-plate and index isprovided to show the position of the mechanism, the index being geareddown to correspond to the shaft S. The dial has words or signs on it toindicate the. position of the gear to the driver and show him in whichdirection the handle must be moved to obtain the desired result.

\Vhen not in use, the axle revolves freely without acting on or beingacted 011 by the power-storing apparatus, both clutches being out ofgear and both brakes applied. This is the position represented in thedrawings. To store power, the one or other clutch is thrown into gear bya partial revolution of the reversing-shaft, and the barrel or thesleeve (according as the car is running inthe one or other direction) isthus geared with the axle, while the other brake holds the part- (sleeveor barrel) not so geared with the axle stationary while the springs arebeing wound and to act as an abutment therefor. Suppose, for example,the car to be running to the right in Figs. 1 and 2 and the shaft S tobe in midgear, as shown. The power-storing apparatus would bedisconnected from the axle, because both clutches C G are out of gear.To wind up the springs, the shaft S makes a quarterrevolution, (to theright in. Fig. 7,) thereby throwing lever X over to the left and drawinginward the lever N and collar M of the clutch G, thereby causing thetoggle-gear of said clutch to expand the radial clutch-dogs, and so gearthe axle with the clutch O, which drives the ratchet-wheel B fast on thesleeve A, with which the axle is therefore geared.

Meanwhile the barrel E is prevented from revolving by its brake andratchetgear H. After the winding-up is accomplished the reversing-shaftS should be returned to its midposition, and the springs will be keptwound up by the ratchet-gear and brakes until the stored power isrequired, whether for starting or for backing the car. This can be doneequally well whether the car be stopped or whether it. be desired tokeep it running, as when advantage is taken of a descending gradient tocoil the springs (by installments, for instance) without stopping thecar. The gear would, however, generally be kept in position to wind upthe springs until the car stops, the apparatus acting as a brake afterthe springs are fully coiled.

To apply the stored power, the appropriate clutch is put in gear and thecorresponding brake is released by a further mot-ion of thereversing-shaft in the direction in which it was moved to operate thatclutch, the other brake remaining applied andacting as an abutment forthe springs. Thus to start the car to the right in Fig. 1 the shaft S isrevolved to the left in Fig. 7 to first throw the barrel-clutch G intogear and then liberate the barrel-brake J. The barrel being new freeandcoupled to the axle through the clutch G, the axle turns with it andthe car.

is propelled, the sleeve being meanwhile held stationary by the brake D.To perform the same functions in the opposite direction, the samedescription applies if the driver or ob server be supposed to be lookingin the direction in which the car is traveling when coiling the springs,the indications on the dials being varied to suit the fact that whenrunning in one direction the sleeve is the leader and the barrel thefollower, and when running in the opposite direction the barrel is theleader and the sleeve the follower.

The apparatus, although described and shown as applied upon one of theWheelaxles, may with advantage be mounted on a separate shaft hung inbearings beneath the car-frame midway between the two axles,the saidshaft being geared with one or both the wheel-axles by a pitch-chain.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatWhat I claim is 1. In a power-storing brake for facilitating thestarting of tram-cars, the combination, with a drum, springs, and sleeveconnected and arranged as described, and mounted loose on the wheel-axleor on a shaft geared therewith, of brakes independently controlling therotation of the barrel and of the sleeve, respectively, and offriction-clutches adapted to connect the wheel axle or shaft with thebarrel or with the sleeve, respectively, and of oppositely-acting setsof pawland ratchet gear, respectively connecting the barrel and thesleeve with the corresponding brakes and clutches, the whole arrangedfor storing or giving out power indifierently by the drum or the sleeve,as maybe required, substantially as specified.

2. In the apparatus herein specified, the combination, with theindependently-acting spring pressed brake straps respectivelycontrolling the rotation of the barrel and sleeve, of the lever andcrank-gear, substantially as described, by which the brake-straps IIO ofthe two sets of clutch operating and looking cam-gear,thebrake-operating crankdisk and lever-connections, and the carrier andabutments 0n the crank-disk, whereby independent motion of the saidshaft'and the clutch-operating gear is permitted within certain limits,as and for the purposes described.

JOHN JOSEPH HOOKER.

Witnesses:

JOHN WM. GIBSON,

Tailor, Tideswell. A. MOODY,

Sacristan, Tideswell.

